Paralegal
South Coastal Counties Legal Services
Fall River, MA
Full-time
Legal
Posted on October 18, 2020
Paralegal
South Coastal Counties Legal Services (SCCLS) a non-profit law firm providing civil legal aid to low-income families and elders, seeks highly motivated Paralegal for its Fall River, MA office. For details and to apply see www.sccls.org/employment.asp.
SCCLS is an EOE.
The Organization: South Coastal Counties Legal Services (SCCLS) and its subsidiary, the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts (JCSM), is the principal provider of free, civil legal aid to low-income residents of Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. SCCLS’ core mission is to achieve justice for eligible clients through community-based advocacy. The organization prioritizes legal services in: housing, public benefits, elder law, domestic relations, employment, education, immigration, and consumer matters. SCCLS and its subsidiary support four law offices located in Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford and Hyannis. SCCLS provides legal assistance in over 4000 cases each year, sponsors numerous community legal education and outreach events, and nurtures strong relationships with community groups and human service organizations from which to serve eligible clients and address emerging needs. The organization has a 15 member volunteer Board of Directors; a staff of 61, who strive to meet the needs of its diverse client community with language skills (Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, Arabic, French, Cantonese and Hebrew), active outreach and community education (including multi-lingual written materials), physical accessibility for people with disabilities, toll free call access, language line for LEP clients and home visits.
Duties Include: Paralegals on the Intake team are the initial point of contact for individuals with critical needs. Interviews with applicants must be conducted efficiently and with empathy to identify legal needs and to determine eligibility for services. Other duties can include: counseling and advocacy on behalf of clients; legal research and writing as assigned; developing community legal education materials and coordinating community outreach activities; and assisting with grant reporting.
Qualifications:
1. Ability to work independently and as a team member; goal and detail oriented with ability to prioritize;
2. Ability to work effectively with people from diverse cultures, with diverse opinions and values, including with staff, volunteers, students, community members and funders;
3. Fluency in a second language which reflects our client communities (Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Khmer) strongly preferred;
4. A commitment to working with clients who may have experienced poverty, trauma or discrimination required; experience working with vulnerable populations desirable;
5. Willingness to become familiar with substantive areas of the law (housing, family, immigration, benefits, consumer etc.);
6. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite required; willingness to learn to use SCCLS’ case management system.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: SCCLS offers competitive compensation based on comparable public interest salaries. Initial salary is determined commensurate with experience and includes annual step increases. Multi-lingual annual increment to base salary may be added for demonstrated language skills. SCCLS offers a benefits package which includes medical and dental for employees and dependents; life insurance; long/short term disability; 403(b) retirement plan; and generous leave.
We are an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status or disability (in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act) with respect to employment opportunities.